


Secrets Shared

by cockabeetle



Series: Owari Magica [62]
Category: Owari Magica
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Talking About Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26770456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cockabeetle/pseuds/cockabeetle
Summary: Mariana agreed to talk to Chance about Witches! It went a lot better than she expected it to, honestly.
Series: Owari Magica [62]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815574





	Secrets Shared

**Author's Note:**

> EXP 8  
> Purification -5%  
> POINTS  
> Total: 2733  
> Beetle/Ana: 1286 words at 643 +600 +50= 1293pts  
> Snubby/Chance: 1447 words at 724 +700 = 1424pts

When Ana had suggested to talk to Chance, it had seemed like such a far away event- honestly, she'd rather keep everyone in the dark than risk telling them and getting them hurt- but with Von's concern over Belladonna... Ana couldn't argue with the plan. She'd come up with it, even.

She texts the Lucky Magi with the number she'd scored off of Vondila (who'd probably gotten it from Salem, considering), and introduces herself with a few cute emojis.  
To Lucky Bug:  
Hey! This is Mariana, the pink magi from those witch battles?<3<3  
To Lucky Bug:  
I wanted to talk to you, are you free?

Chance startled when her phone buzzed, her thoughts having been wandering before they had been interrupted. She came back to herself quickly as she checked the messages. An unknown number... that was weird. As she read the texts it became more obvious how this unknown number had gotten her number. Not so unknown after all.

She wasn't sure what Mariana wanted to talk about but she had to admit she was a bit excited. Was she finally a part of the group? She had noticed the magicals that had more experience than her seemed to be more of a group that she had just stumbled upon. Maybe this meant she was finally a part of that!

She quickly shot back a Sure! Where did you want to meet? and excitedly waited for a reply.

Mariana relaxed a little at Chance's reply, and thought for a moment before typing up her offer.  
To Lucky Bug:  
How about the beach near the Sanctuary? I know some newbies haven't actually been there but I heard the Morsons mention you had ;P  
To Lucky Bug:  
We can wander, see how pretty the beach is during Spring? If that's alright with you, Chiquita

Chance smiled down at her phone, quickly checking her schedule to make sure she wasn't doing anything that'd get in the way. And... nope! She was free to wander the rest of the day. Perfect! She quickly shot back a That sounds good! I have been so I'll head out there now? to make sure their meeting was asap and not later in the day. The beach was pretty but she didn't want to be wandering around lost for a few hours waiting for Mariana to show up.

To Lucky Bug:  
Perfect! I'm inside, so I'll meet you here when you're close :star::star:

Ana grinned, and shook herself a little. She was gonna need to remember what this conversation was about- she can't make it too serious, but... she doesn't want to blindside Chance with it, either. How to walk that balance...

See you there! Chance replied with another small smile before slipping her phone into her pocket. She wasn't too far from the beach now. She could probably get there by walking. And if she walked a bit faster than usual (not nearly a jog but what might be classified as a power walk) then that was no one's business but her own.

It wasn't long before she reached the beach, slowing her walk as she neared the Sanctuary. She raised a hand above her eyes to shield them from the light as she looked around for Mariana. Maybe she should send her a text to let her know she was here?

Ana saw her from the mouth of the sanctuary, and stepped out into the sun with a smile. She reaches into her hoodie pocket to pluck a piece of candy- A jolly rancher, watermelon- and offer it as she steps close.  
"Hey, Chiquita! I'm glad you could make it!"

Chance raised her hand from her eyes to wave, smiling widely at the gift offered to her. "Oh-- thank you!" She laughed lightly, tucking it safely into her pocket before finally greeting her properly. "Thanks for inviting me. It's nice to see you again. The beach really is pretty this time of year." She commented, glancing out to the waves. "Should we get to walking then?"

"Let's!" Ana grinned.  
"I do... wanna talk about something important, but... how have you been, so far? I know it's a little different being a newbie now than when I started- the only other people doing it when I did were Vanessa and Vondila- but... your first battles are always so memorable!"

Chance noted the hesitation in her voice when she brought up the important topic, giving a small nod as she began to walk beside her, "Oh, it's been pretty good actually." She offered another smile. Her hand moved to play with the ring on her right hand, spinning the band a few times as she spoke.

"I wasn't sure if I could be any help. I didn't even know how to attack the first battle." She laughed at the memory. "But I've been getting stronger and more confidant. And having you all to back me up makes it a lot better." She hummed happily.

"I understand that- it's a little different, for you, but- it can be really disheartening to miss a lot. Lord knows I've shot my own foot more often than I've hit enemies... but... you have the option to help your allies, too. You're a Support Magi, like Avril. That makes it harder for you to attack directly than a Distance Magi, like myself, but... you're so important. You keep us feeling good and focused during a battle, give us boosts when we're doing well or doing worse..." she smiled.  
"Avi hasn't been around as much, but they always made battles interesting. I think you'd get along well with them. I... things changed a lot, just before you showed up. Von lost her arm during a battle, and it's been hard to keep everything going with that in the back of my head. She's... our leader, the one who brought us all together to begin with. She and Salem are who we built this group around, so... I guess I'm scared of the idea of them getting hurt." She smiled at Chance.  
"Sugarplum was a good witch for Vondila to come back to, she was easy enough to defeat, only had the one familiar... she didn't even seem keen to attack us." Ana bit her lip.

Chance listened to Mariana speak with wide eyes, nodding every so often so show she was taking all the information in. And... it was a lot to take in. She let out a small gasp and a quiet "gosh" when she learned that Von had lost her arm, her hand moving to wrap around her wrist without her noticing it. She couldn't imagine something like that happening. She had figured witches were dangerous but not... that dangerous. Maybe that's why she was always told to stay in the back. Not only was she a support but she was new and no one wanted her on the front lines where she could get hurt.

"Oh-- yeah. I noticed that actually. After the first battle I figured the second one would be just as hard. I didn't realize witches came in different strengths. Some are a lot easier than others. It was a nice change of pace." She nodded again. She glanced down for a moment before looking back up at the other girl. "I'll be sure to do my best as a support. It's my job to protect all of you so I'll focus more on that. That way you don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt."

"Yeah... Mania is the more... normally difficult witch we have to deal with? Von lost her arm to one called Prometheus. He was... impossibly difficult. Witches like him can grab hostages; normal people. They have familiars who can hold you still until you break free, and... we couldn't save one of the hostages, either. We'd saved her from two witches before this, but... Mrs. Sakura didn't make it, that time, and... I should have done more. I knew we needed to defeat all of the familiars before we killed Prometheus or something terrible would happen, but I... lost my head, when Von got hurt. Percy'd never fought one of them before, and he took over without knowing the risks. I shouldn't have let myself fall apart." Ana let out a breath.

"Like I said before, we never know how difficult a witch will be until we're inside their labyrinth. Some of them hide in the distance and sic their familiars on us... some get in close and drain our stats... some don't have any familiars but can change forms when they're injured enough... there are so many kinds." Ana chewed on her lip a little more.

"Thank you for confidence, Lucky Bug. It's... it's really nice to hear. I... are you familiar with how magical girl shows work? Where their powers come from, who makes their enemies, that sort of thing?"

"I had no idea there was still so much more to learn..." Chance hung her head a bit, noting how distressed Mariana sounded recalling all of the past events. This was a lot harder than she had thought it would be. Risks, yes, she had expected this. But... this? All of this? If she weren't so determined to do good with these powers she might've almost regretted signing up so fast. But she couldn't regret this. This was her choice and she had to stick to it. She could do so much good with it. This was a blessing not a curse. Even if it was a difficult path.

"Oh uh... n-not really." She admit with a bashful laugh. "I had heard of them before but this is... really my first exposure to any of this."

Ana smiled a little more, a twinge of sadness in her eyes.  
"I grew up loving them. Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure, stuff like those... I was obsessed." She glanced out to sea, and continues in a quiet voice.  
"In most of them, monsters are created by a villainous force equal to the heroic force making the magical soldiers. Villains have powers stemming from a similar but opposing source. But... according to the incubators, the only magic in the world are from them, us, and witches. Some familiars can hatch into a witch, but... there are too many witches for them to spawn from familiars alone. Where else could they come from, do you think?"

Chance listened to her logic, her eyebrows furrowing a bit in thought. If there was no evil source to create the witches... and there weren't enough familiars to create witches... She followed Mariana's gaze out to the sea for a moment before looking back at her worriedly. "Do... incubators create witches?" She asked worriedly. If they could create magicals to fight them... then could they also create witches for the magicals to fight? It was sound enough logic. If not a bit mean. Why would you create things for the magicals to fight? Unless there was a reason for it all...?

"Sort of. It's my job to explain this to you, and I don't know how you'll take it." Ana bit her lip again.  
"Incubators make contracts with us to create energy from our souls. The witches aren't actively made by them, but... they're the direct result of the Incubators being here. There would be no witches if there were no incubators or magi."

Chance furrowed her brow again at that, the hand with her ring on it balling into a fist in worry. This sounded... bad. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going. "So... witches are a byproduct of a contract?" She asked, trying to put it together. That's what it sounded like. For every magical there was a witch. That could make sense. If they were all the positive energy then maybe witches were all the negative energy given form? Something like... equivalent exchange?

"Sort of." Ana took a breath.  
"Soul Gems darken as you use more magic, and when your emotions get overly negative, too." She turned her ring into her gem, where it's cloudy but not actually as dark as it has been. From her pocket, she draws out a used grief seed, a black gem with little designs similar to the Soul Gem.  
"We use Grief Seeds to purify them, Witches hatch from these seeds." She holds the Used Grief Seed up for Chance to see.  
"Familiar looking, isn't it?"

Chance examined the two, noting the similarities between the two of them. It finally clicked for her. Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp, her eyes shooting up from the magical artifacts to look up at Mariana in shock. "Grief seeds... grief seeds come from soul gems... don't they?" She asked in worry, realizing that had to be it. That's why incubators made witches. They made maicals... and magicals turned into witches.

"If your gem gets too dark, it can transform into one of these, yeah." Ana turned her gem back into her ring, and tucked the seed back into her pocket.  
"Not every witch came from a magi, but... every magi could become a witch." She twists her ring lightly.  
"And... the gem, it's your soul. Don't let anyone take it from you, okay? Incubators don't tell you these sorts of things unless you know, unless you ask the right questions... but. We're not going to lie to anyone about this, anymore. It's... it's important we stick together, and work together. Someone came to Seaford to rip our group apart, and... she's been using the knowledge of witches and grief and souls to make us doubt one another."

"What?" Chance asked, her eyes widening in surprise at that. "Who would do that?" She asked, both of her hands balling into fists. It seemed she cared more about the idea of someone trying to rip the group apart than she did about the prospect of possible turning into a witch. Or the idea that the witches she may have fought were once magical girls like her. Chance's priorities were surely something to be marveled at.

"Her name is Belladonna. She and Vondila knew each other from before Vanessa and I became Magi. Bella hates Von and wants to rip us apart, so she can take our gems when we fall. She's sent out letters with threats and lies and misleading information about Vondila and Salem, to make us mistrust them and hurt us... make us freak out and lose our will to keep fighting." Ana took a breath.  
"She cut off Von's arm, during the fight with Prometheus, and... even if she's the only reason Von is still alive, I can't forgive her for doing that in the first place. I saw her shoot Von with something before she used healing. She's a healer, like Vanessa, but I think she specialized in poisons instead of healing, or something. She's got black hair and her symbol is a red diamond. She's very dangerous, you should try not to engage if you can, okay? She's dangerous."

Chance let out a soft gasp at that, covering her soul gem with her opposite hand and holding both of them protectively against her chest. A healer that specialized in poisons... and a magical that would hunt down other magicals. How could someone be so cruel? "That's... awful. How could someone be so... ruthless?" She asked, shaking her head sadly. "I promise I'll stay on my guard. I won't let her get away with this."

"Some people... some people just enjoy hurting others. Some people are... selfish." Ana turned to Chance with a wry smile.  
"She wants us to become witches, so she has more fuel to keep herself going. Vondila wants to organize a real conversation with everyone , once we all know about Witches, so we can make a plan to deal with Bella without letting her call the shots anymore."

"That's a pretty smart plan." Chance nodded with a small smile of hope. "I promise I wont let her get to me. It's... scary knowing all of this... but I signed up knowing I could get hurt. And... I'm a supporter after all. That means I can make sure we all stay safe. I won't let myself or any of you become witches. And I especially won't let her get to any of you." She swore with a firm nod.

Ana gently grabbed Chance's hands.  
"Thank you for understanding. I'm sorry to spring this on you so soon, but... it is better to let everyone know before it's been too long, or it feels like you've been kept in the dark just to... be someone's pawn, their mindless soldier." She huffs a little. She didn't want to tell anyone, but... it did give her confidence, that Chance didn't take it badly. Maybe it was just her who was so bothered by this news.  
"I'll make sure to let you know when Von's war council will be held. And if you ever need help, or have any questions, don't be afraid to reach out. To me, or the Morsons, or Vanessa or Percy. We're all trying to be open, and get everything out there."

"No-- I... I'm glad." Chance smiled. "You all trust me enough to let me know. And you were brave enough to tell me such... bad news." She smiled, squeezing her hands reassuringly. "I finally feel like I'm a part of the group now. Now just.. intruding on all of you." She smiled.

"I can't imagine what would've happened if Bella had found me when I was still feeling like that. Thank you." She nodded her head, her expression softening. "For everything. I'll be sure to get in touch with you if I ever need anything. We're a team... and we need to stick together."

Mariana grinned.  
"Yes! Everyone deserves to feel like they're part of the group, and I'm glad I've helped you feel more accepted. I want everyone to feel close, we depend on one another, and it's good to do so in and out of battle. If you ever just want to hang out and talk, too, don't be afraid to reach out! I'm always happy to make time for friends." She grinned, and pulled out a sugar baby. She snorted.  
"Didn't I give you one of these when we met? Or at least, the big version?"

"You did." Chance giggled, bringing a hand to cover her mouth to help muffle the laugh she let out. "I think i should be getting home before it gets dark. I have to think over all this stuff and I know if I do it out here I'll never make it home for dinner." She pointed out. "But I'll reach out in the future. For sure."

"Good luck! I hope you enjoy your dinner!" Ana grinned, and popped the caramel into her mouth.  
"Want me to walk you home at all, or would you rather do some thinking alone?"

"I think I probably need the time to myself. But if I get into any trouble I'll call you." She smiled. "Thanks for the offer. You're a real friend." Her smile widened. She gave her a wave before turning to head off the beach , looking back over her shoulder at the other. "See you soon!"

Mariana waved, and breathed a sigh of relief when Chance turned back to her path.  
That went better than she'd feared. Maybe things will actually go right.


End file.
